First Electric Car To Be Launched By Q4

The car is to be manufactured by Reva Electric Car Company, a joint venture between the Maini group and the US-based Amerigon. The company's plants near Bangalore are working overtime right now to meet the delivery schedule.

The company has invested over Rs 70 crore in the project so far, a pittance when compared with the kind of investments an auto venture entails -- Rs 1,700 crore by Tata Engineering for Indica. Recently, ICICI has sanctioned a loan of Rs 7.5 crore to part-finance the venture.

Marginally bigger than an autorickshaw, the car is likely to be priced at around Rs 2 lakh. What is more, the running cost will only be around 40 paise per kilometre.

 

It will take seven hours and Rs 27 to fully charge the car, after which it can run 80 kilometres.

The company plans to roll about 1,500 cars in the first year, before scaling up production to over 12,000 cars by the end of the third year. It hopes to put up a sales and service network in place by this time. The company targets an export of 20 per cent of its cars.

Vijay Chandy, senior vice-president, Reva Electric Car Company, said, "Reva is a niche-market car. It will appeal to all those who require economical and eco-friendly city mobility. These include those shifting from a two-wheeler, housewives and working women, other professionals and retired people."

The company also aims at the corporate sector. Companies which buy this car can claim 100 per cent depreciation in the first year itself under the Income Tax Act. Besides, the car can also be given away as a perquisite to junior executives and can be used for transporation within large complexes.

To keep the costs of production down, Reva Car Company has attained a high degree of indigenisation at around 92 per cent. Reva also comes without a clutch or gearbox. With a payload of 227 kgs, it can at the most carry two adults and a kid.